Revenge rape case appeal rejected

The state Supreme Court has declined to take on the appeal of a woman accused of scheming to have another woman raped as part of a campaign of harassment against a Carmel Valley couple.

The decision Wednesday means Kathy Rowe, 52, can be tried on solicitation of rape and solicitation of sodomy charges — felonies that had been dismissed by a San Diego Superior Court judge until the ruling was overturned in April by a state appeals court.

According to court documents, Rowe found her family’s dream home in Carmel Valley in 2011, but was outbid by another couple. Devastated about the loss, she began to harass the couple. She signed them up for strange catalogs, posted their address on the Internet for a fireworks giveaway and put a stop on their mail, among other tricks, she admitted in court records.

She went further, posting online sex ads pretending to be the new homeowner and inviting strangers over for a “Carmel Valley Freak Show.” She included photos of the wife and the couple’s address. In conversations with men who replied, Rowe described a rape fantasy and encouraged the men to come over, attack her and ignore any pleas to stop, records show. “I like the element of surprise,” Rowe wrote to one man.

One of the men did come to the victim’s home, but was stopped first by a locked gate and later in the day when the husband answered the door.

Rowe told the judge she never meant for anyone to get hurt, and described her actions as childish pranks that were an outlet for stress.

Superior Court Judge Runston Maino ruled that the men didn’t appear to have real intent to rape the victim, but the panel of appeals judges overturned that, saying that the solicitation charges were valid, even if no rape was committed.

Rowe also faces four counts of identity theft in the case — felonies that have been reduced to misdemeanors.

The case now goes back to the county Superior Court for a possible trial.